Natalie goes Crazy
by AthenaPersephone14
Summary: It's been seven years since Amy and Dan won the 39 Clues and since then Natalie has fallen helplessly in love with Dan. But in two day's he getting married to someone else! Is there anything Natalie can do to stop it?
1. Prologue

"Natalie, come on it's time to go we don't want to be late for the party!" Ian Kabra called. But Natalie didn't respond; she didn't feel much like partying. "Nat, COME ON!" That got her. "I DON'T WANT TO GO, OKAY!"

"ALRIGHT!" Ian shouted back and with that he was gone and Natalie was left alone with her thoughts. When was it she had started to love him? Was it seven years ago during the clue hunt or when he and his annoying sister Amy won? Or maybe it was when the Kabras went and visited the Cahill's estate? Natalie couldn't be sure.

There had been so many opportunities she could have told him she loved him but she never had. And now she was deeply regretting it. The man she loved was getting married in two days to somebody else and there was nothing else she could do about it. Or was there…?


	2. A Chance Meeting

**Hey, thanks for the reviews. And sorry that first bit was kind of short. My chapters are usually longer, but that first was a prologue. Anyway, enjoy! ** 

Natalie's pov

I had a lot to do and not much time. I had to get a hold of Dan and Alissandra Drake's, his fiancée, wedding plans. It was simple- all I had to do was google Dan. Next step, plan. I needed to figure what I was going to do break up Dan and Ali.

I knew I had to be _at_ the wedding. So, I hopped on my jet and flew to Boston. As soon as I was able, I hailed a taxi and booked a room at the Royal Bostonian Hotel. My suite was nice but not as charming and luxurious as my rooms at home.

I plopped onto my four-poster bed and grabbed my laptop. Once it was booted up, I opened Word and began typing out my ideas to break up Dan and Alissandra. I came up with about ten then took a break to get some food. I was on my way down to the lobby to hail another taxi to take me to a restaurant when I ran into someone as I was rounding a corner.

Watch it, I was about to say, but then I saw who it was. The person I had run into was Dan.

Dan's pov

"Ohhh, this place is perfect." Ali crooned beside me. We were touring the Royal Bostonian Hotel; we were thinking about renting its ballroom for our reception. Suddenly, as we were rounding a corner, I bumped into someone. I looked down at them to apologize (They were at least a head shorter than me.) and I was shocked to see who it was.

"Natalie?" She looked up at me with those, now that I think about it, _beautiful_ brown eyes. "Yes, Dan?" I was still shocked to see her (We hadn't seen the Kabras since the 39 clues.) and I couldn't think of what to say. I was saved from looking like an idiot when Ali hissed in my ear "Who is _she_?"

"Oh… umm… Natalie this Ali, my fiancée, and Ali this is Natalie, Natalie Kabra." It was funny to watch my fiancée's eyes bug out. "You mean Natalie Kabra as in _the_ Natalie Kabra who owns the biggest fashion empire in the world?!"

"Yes, that's me." Natalie looked kind of bored, as if she'd been through this before. She probably had. "Oh my gosh…" Ali started babbling away to my former enemy. I glanced over at Natalie. She was wearing a red shirt with sleeves that came to her elbows, jeans, and black, leather boots that came to her mid shin. Her hair was loose over her shoulder and silver hoop earrings adorned her ears. It was a simple look, but yet Natalie managed to look beautiful. Wait, back up. Did I just think Natalie was _beautiful_ ?

Natalie's pov

It was a cross between torture and heaven. I got see Dan but it came with a price. I had to meet _her_, Alissandra Drake. The witch who was marrying Dan, _my_ Dan. She was _so_ annoying. She talked for ten minutes (ten minutes!) about the embroidery on one of the bags I designed. I wanted to strangle her! But at least I got to see Dan.

Dan's pov

I practically had to drag Ali away from Natalie. As we walked away toward the ballroom, I turned back to look at Natalie. For a second I thought I saw a look of unbelievable sorrow in her eyes but then the it was gone. And before I had a chance to do anything else, she turned on her heel and walked away.

**I hope you liked it! Reviews are always appreciated! The next chapter will be longer!**


	3. Meg Hara and Marian Dresden

**I forgot to put the disclamer! I do not own The 39 clues, (It would be nifty if I did.) but I DO own Alissandra Drake, Meg Hara, and Marian Dresden.**

Natalie's pov

I sat on my bed and cried. Seeing Dan with that witch had shocked me. I never expected her to be so… so beautiful. She had waist length dirty blond hair and big green eyes. She just seemed so, I don't know…, _perfect._ And it wasn't just the way she looked; she had a certain charm and grace. That got me sobbing again. But, I was interrupted as my cell phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered my voice still choked with tears. "Natalie, where have you been?! I go to the Robinson's party, come home, and you're gone! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!?!"

"I…I" I couldn't finish so I hung up on him. Tears were pouring down my cheeks when my brother called again. "NATALIE, DON'T YOU DARE HANGE UP ON ME! NOW, WHERE ARE YOU?!" I hit the talk button and said "I'm busy- an emergency at one of my business branches, so please don't call back." With that said I hit end.

Two hours and forty-seven minutes later, I picked up my cell phone and called an old friend of mine. She was Marian Dresden, Dan and Ali's wedding planner's, assistant. Her name was Meg Hara and I hadn't seen her in years.

When I called her, I got her voice mail, so I left a message telling her to meet me in the lobby of the Royal Bostonian Hotel. When I saw her, I felt a sudden rush of happiness, the likes of which I hadn't felt in a long time. "Natalie, is that you?!" she squealed as she ran towards me with open arms. "Yes it's me." I replied, returning her hug. "Oh my gosh, I've got soooo much to tell you, but what was it you wanted to tell me?" "I'll tell you as soon as we get to my room."

And tell her, I did. As soon as I had shut my door, the whole story came spewing out of me like lava from a volcano. At parts I was angry, while at other parts I was frustrated, and by the end I was crying like there was no tomorrow. And all the while Meg was sitting there listening, getting mad at all the right parts and sympathizing my woes. "So," I began, "I was wondering if, you know, you'd be able to help me get in the church (that's where Dan was getting married) before and during the wedding?"

"So you can do what? Wait I know, you want to break Dan and Ali up, don't you? Well there's no way I'm helping you do that! I'm not going to ruin somebody else's wedding! No way, no how!" I was flabbergasted; Meg was usually so calm. "Please Meg, I love him, and I know he could love me to. Please." I must of looked pretty desperate because Meg said "Okay, so…say I agreed to help you break up Dan and Ali. But how are you going to do that?" I grinned evilly. "Here's the plan…"

Ali's pov

I walked on air the rest of the day. I had met Natalie Kabra! As Dan and I strolled along Burningham Street, I could picture Natalie and I going out for lunch or visiting her studio together. I could do all that in two days time, once I married Dan Cahill. He was such and idiot; he thought I really loved him. I only loved his money.

"Hey Ali, you want to head over to Calder's Collectibles?" My fiancée's question surprised me out of my post-wedding fantasies. "Oh… uh… no, not right now." Dan's face fell, but I paid him no mind. He was such an idiot.

**I hope you like it! :-D**


	4. Ali disses the Queen of Spain

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!**

Natalie's pov

"Are you ready?" I looked over at Meg and purred, "Of course I'm ready, I'm Natalie Kabra!" We were sitting in a little bistro right outside of Ali's mansion. (Did I mention that her dad's a multibillion heir? He's some sort of computer genius.) And, in precisely two minutes I was going to break in, find her wedding dress, and ruin it.

"So, are you clear on the plan?" Meg's question pulled me out of my thoughts. "Yes." My friend didn't look convinced, so I recited our plan. " First, I scale the garden wall. Then, I use my grappling hook gun to latch on to the witch's balcony. (Ali was on a shopping spree.) I climb up and once I'm in her room I find the wedding dress and make sure there's no way she'll ever be able to where it on her wedding day."

By now it was time to put my plan into action. So, I dashed off before Meg could say another word.

Whew. It turns out that Ali's balcony was higher up than I expected, a lot higher, three floors to be exact. The scaling the garden wall part was cake, but climbing up four stories on a rope? That's a whole 'nother story.

When I finally made it up, my brow was soaking with sweat. Ewww. As I stood on Ali's balcony, I dabbed at my forehead with a white handkerchief embroidered with my initials. When I stepped into Dan's fiancée's room that handkerchief fell from my hand and onto the lushly carpeted floor. All around the room was pictures of…me.

There were at least a dozen. I recognized one from the biography the New York Times did on me. (It was titled "Natalie Kabra: The Rising Queen of the Fashion Empire".) Another was a picture of me giving my acceptance speech for Los Angeles's "Person of the Year" award. "This girl is obsessed," I said to myself as I looked around Ali's room and at all the pictures if me. It was kind of creepy seeing so many mes staring at me.

But I let it go; it was time to find that dress. I strode across my obsessed fan's room and opened a door, which I thought would be the closet. I was wrong. It was a bathroom, a _messy_ bathroom. Beauty products were all over the counter, but what really caught my eyes was pretty funny. Strewn across the floor were three pairs of underwear- one had the unicorns from "Charlie the Unicorn" on it, another had the alphabet imprinted on it, (Why in heaven's name would an eighteen year old girl have the alphabet on her underwear?) the third, however, had I AM SPECIAL emblazoned across the back in big, pink, curly letters. I stifled a laugh as I exited the bathroom.

The next room I entered _was_ the closet. Thank goodness; I was getting to know Ali more than I wanted to. Her closet was huge, but not as big as mine. I practically had to wade through her clothes to move at all! "What a slob," I muttered. I looked around and, for the first time, I saw one of those big bags you put your clothes in to protect them hanging in a corner in the back of the closet. It a matter a seconds I was right beside it. I quickly unzipped the bag and peered inside. When I saw what the content was all I could say was, "perfect."

Third person.

**This is all happening at the same time as Natalie's mission.**

"AAARRGGGGHHHH!!! I don't care if she's the Queen of Spain! I saw them first!" The cashier of Beautiful Shoes Boutique looked helplessly at the store's manager. This was by far the worst customer they had ever heard.

"Miss Drake, Her Majesty the Queen of Spain was already in the process of _paying_ for the shoes when you saw them."

"So what?! I deserve them! They'd look divine with my wedding dress! And anyway, what's an old prune like her going to do with three inch heels?" Everyone in the store gasped and turned to look at Ali and the "old prune" by her side. "Why… I never…" Spain's beloved queen sputtered. "Oh, shut up you decrepit old hag." The rude girl turned to glare hatefully at the cashier and the manager and then Alissandra Drake strode angrily out of the store, toward her limo, having cut her shopping spree short.

Natalie's pov

I was almost finished and I have to tell you Ali's dress looked completely different. I smiled to myself as I raised my scissors to make one final cut and… "AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!" I dropped my scissors, startled by the voice. "I AM SOOO MAD! WHO DID SHE THINK SHE WAS, STEALING THOSE SHOES FROM ME?!?! I'LL MAKE HER PAY, PAY!" Ali's voice screeched from four floors down.

This wasn't part of the plan! That witch wasn't supposed to be home for another two hours! What was I going to do? Whatever it was, I had better do it fast because Ali was on her way up here. Quicker than lightning, stood up and ran to the balcony. There was no way I descend that rope, climb the garden wall, and run away in time.

So, thinking fast, I grabbed my grappling hook gun, sucked the cord with the hook back into the gun's nozzle and stuffed it in my bag. Then, just as fast, I ran out Dan's fiancée's bedroom door, took a quick left, and ran right into Ali herself.


	5. The Natalie Kabra Fan Club

**Natalie's pov**

SMACK! It felt like a truck hit me when Ali and I collided. We both landed on the floor and it was Dan's fiancée who spoke first. "Uugghh, my head! Whoever ran into me, I am going to sue you…" She stopped, flabbergasted, when she saw me across from me on the floor.

"Oh…I'm so sorry! I'm such a klutz! I'm so sorry!" She probably would have gone on forever had I asked, "Ali, could you please help me up?" When we were both standing, my enemy than asked the question I had dreading. "Natalie, not that I'm not honored to have you in my humbles house, but what are you doing here?"

I cringed. "I…uh…wanted to show you some of my new designs!" Ali practically jumped up and down with excitement. "You want to show _me_ your designs?!" My response was "Uh,…yeah." And before I could utter another word, Ali whipped out her cell phone. "I'm the president of your fan club," she explained, "and I know all the club members are going to want to meet you and see your designs as well!" I groaned to myself. This was going to be a long day.

Four long hours later

What a day. I had to sign fifty-three autographs, show eighteen squealing women and teenagers my hastily made fashion designs, and graciously decline twenty-three invitations to numerous low-class social events. Needless to say, I was dog-tired.

Ali's pov

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Natalie Kabra came to visit me! Me! I've never felt so excited in my life! Except when my idiot of a fiancée asked me to marry him. (What kind of eighteen year old is obsessed with ninjas?!)

And, best of all, Natalie Kabra came to _my_ house to show_ me_ _her_ designs! I thought I was going to faint! They were all so gorgeous!

I walked up to my bedroom, feeling as if the ground I walked on was made of air. I threw open the doors to my plush suite and sauntered in. I then noticed something white on the ground by my closet. I picked it and saw the letters NAK embroidered on it. I dropped it in shock. Oh. My. Gosh. This handkerchief belongs to my model, my _idol_, Natalie Kabra. I grabbed my cell phone, ready to call Natalie, (I now have her on speed dial!) but then I thought of something. Natalie must have _hundreds_ of handkerchiefs just like this one; she's never going to notice if one is missing. A grin slowly spread across my face.

This had been an amazing day. First, Natalie Kabra shows up at my house wanting me to see her designs. Then, I find her handkerchief in my room! Wait, how did it get in my room? As far as I know, Natalie was never in here. So, why is her handkerchief in my bedroom? I thought about this for a while, but then it suddenly clicked. When I ran into Natalie, she was coming from the direction of my room. She must have been looking for me so she could show me her designs. But then why wasn't she in the parlor where all my guests wait for me? And why was she running? My train of thought was broken by a yawn escaping from my throat. I realized I was tired. But then I looked at the clock and realized something else- it was time for my final wedding dress fitting.

I yawned again as I walked over to my closet to grab the dress.

**I know it's short, but then next chapter will be longer! ** **Thanks for all the reviews! **


	6. A Walk in the Park

**Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! Sorry I haven't updated lately; I've been swamped with homework. After I last updated, I was asked what does the "A" in NAK (Natalie's initials) stand for. It stands for Alicia. I haven't the faintest clue as to what Natalie's middle name in the book is, but in my story it's Alicia.**

**Dan's pov**

"Riiinnnnggg" I picked up my cell phone and glanced at the screen to see who was calling. It was Ali. I answered my phone but hastily pulled it away from my ear.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" The scream was so piercing I nearly dropped the phone. I tried to speak but was cut off by more screaming. "Whoa, Ali, calm down. Now, tell me what happened."

"I…I came into my room to get my dress for the fitting and… and…" She broke off, sobbing uncontrollably. "Ali, what's wrong?!" She just sobbed harder. "You.. you have to come and see." And with that said she hung up on me.

I was pretty worried as I quickly drove across town to the Drake Family Mansion. What could have gotten Ali so worked up? "Well, I'm about to find out." I said to my self as I pulled up Ali's driveway.

"Oh. My. Gosh" I stared open-mouthed at my fiancée's wedding dress, or what _used_ to be her wedding dress. It was now colored all the colors of the rainbow. It looked someone had taken a couple of bottles of paint and just squirted them all over it. And that was just the bottom half. On the top part, someone had taken a pair of scissors and cut out the words "YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL" from the fabric. And, they'd sloppily glued those cheesy fake feathers from Wal-Mart all along the edges of the whole dress.

"Wait, there's more." Ali choked out as she turned the dress around. What I saw made me want to burst out laughing, but at the same time it made me pretty mad. Whoever did this had drawn a caricature of Ali on the back. She had a huge head, her eyes were bugging out, and her pupils were looking in different directions. Her buckteeth were about two inches long and she had a booger hanging out of her nose. "Is that…" I scrutinized the well-drawn mockery. "Are you riding on Charlie the Unicorn?"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" was Ali's reply. She stomped her foot. "This isn't fair! I hat whoever did this! I'll sue them! Sue them! Why did they have to do this to _me_? Why couldn't they have done it to some one else?! Why me?!"

My fiancée curled into a ball on the floor and started to bawl. After a few seconds, I leaned down and help her to her feet. She clutched me, sobbing into my chest. Ali said something but I couldn't make it out so I asked her "What?" "We'll have to postpone the wedding."

"Ahhh." She was right of course. "And the rehearsal dinner," she went on, "some of the paint splattered onto my dress for that too." That statement brought on a whole new session of weeping. I was going to need a new shirt. "Ssshhhhh. Ssshhhh, it's all right." I said, trying to calm Ali down, but it didn't work. I even tried singing to her. "Rock a bye baby** (A/N: Who the heck makes up a song about a baby falling out of a tree?)**…" "Are you calling me a baby?!" Ali suddenly shrieked at me. "What, no! I was just trying to calm you down; I think that song is very calming!"

But my fiancée wouldn't here it. She pushed me away in disgust and yelled "I am not a baby! And until you can treat me like a mature adult, you are banned from my house!" With that said, she shoved me out of her room, slamming right behind me.

I stalked down her hall feeling mad at myself, Ali, and whoever messed up her dress. I strode out the front door wondering what to do with myself now. Then I spotted someone walking out of a nearby café. I squinted, trying to see who it was. It was Natalie! My stomach seemed filled with butterflies as I walked over to say hello.

Natalie's pov

"Nat!" Meg yelled as she came running up to me. We were at the same bistro where we met yesterday. Technically, I was supposed to come here right after I finished trashing Ali's wedding dress, but I'd been so tired I'd just called my friend and arranged to meet here today.

"How did it go?!" Meg asked me breathlessly after she'd hugged me. "Mission accomplished." I answered her with a grin. "But you were in there so long; what happened?" I told Meg everything that had happened. She was as shocked as I was to find out that Dan's fiancée was obsessed with me. "Creepy," she agreed with me.

I finished up by telling her about a woman, who in her desperation to get my autograph, tripped over a footstool and fell into the punch bowl! (Ali had quickly ordered the people who worked for her to set up a glamorous buffet for yours truly.)

We were laughing our heads off at poor Ms. Tuffett's expense when Meg's phone started to ring. She answered it, trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to stifle a laugh. I heard her say "Yes, Ma'am. I'll be there in ten minutes." Meg hung up and said "I've got to go, Nat. that was Marion on the phone and she needs me to come over to the office to do some paperwork and find Ali and Dan a new wedding date." My friend looked at me with a sly grin. "Apparently Marion just got a call from a certain Miss Drake who was… distraught. She wouldn't say what was the matter, just that she wanted her wedding bumped back a few days." I grinned back at Meg.

We said bye and before I knew it she had sailed out the door and into her red Volkswagen Bug. I stayed at the café a few minutes longer before paying my bill, generously tipping our waitress, and leaving. As I left, I saw the excited girl scream "YES! AT LAST I CAN QUIT THIS JOB!" I laughed as I saw her turn to her manager, slap him across the face, and say "That's for making me work overtime on my birthday." Then she stalked out the back door.

I was still chortling when I saw someone watching me. I stopped in shock; the person was Dan.

Dan's pov

"Hey, Natalie!" I called as I walked across the street to see her. I'm not exactly sure why I was doing this, but I felt the need to talk to someone, even if that someone was my former enemy, Natalie Kabra. As I got closer, I noticed something else. Natalie looked beautiful. Actually, stunning is a more accurate word. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and star earrings adorned her ears. **(A/N: kind of like this: *****)**She had on a light purple shirt that was tight around the hips. Her sleeves came to, and tightened, at the elbows with about an inch of fabric hanging past them. Her capris were made of a dark, jean, sparkly material. A pair of light purple flats completed the look.

"Hello, Dan." There was an awkward moment, but then I said "Do you want to go on a walk with me?" "Sure," was my reply. We walked over to a nearby park and, as we meandered along, I told her everything. All my frustrations, how I wanted to laugh at Ali's rude caricature but then felt guilty, how I was mad at whoever ruined my fiancée's dress, the whole shebang. By the time I was finished, I was sure Natalie would be fed up with me telling her all about my problems but she surprised me by being interested.

"Have you found out who did it yet?" "No," I answered her, "not yet. But I will."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"I'll… ummm have the whole place dusted for fingerprints."

"I think your fiancee would object to having her room coated with fingerprinting dust."

"Then I'll bring in dogs and have them follow the scent of whoever it was that did it."

"But think of all the people that go into Ali's room. There's maids, her parents, Ali herself, sometimes guests, and you."

"Yeah, but, wait how did you know that?" She laughed. I was visiting her this afternoon and I saw a maid heading up there. I also assume that Ali, her parents, friends, and herself go in the room. "I have to admit you've beaten me, Natalie." Then I laughed.

We walked a little longer then sat down on a wooden bench overlooking a river. All the while we just talked. I learned that Natalie loved to play chess, wanted to go sky-diving, her favorite color was aqua, and that Ian had written a book entitled "Ian Kabra: The Story of a Poor Boy Seeking Acceptance". (Yeah right. Apparently, his book did pretty well. It was a bestseller in England and critics claimed it was "touching" and "inspirational".) I never knew we had so much in common! "I've always wanted to go sky-diving too! Maybe we could together!" I blushed red. I couldn't believe I'd just said that! I looked over at my former enemy to see that she was blushing too. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot." she finally answered.

She was about to say something else when a man in a butler's garb appeared by the bench. "Miss Drake sent me to find you. She wishes to talk to you." he informed me. I looked over at Natalie but she wouldn't look at me. "Ali's waiting; you'd better go see what she wants." Then my new friend got up and ran quickly down the path, leaving me behind wanting to spend more time with her.

Natalie's pov

Everything seemed perfect. Here I was sitting on bench in the park with the guy I loved having the time of my life. I was in the middle of telling him how'd I'd always wanted to go sky-diving but never had when he suddenly blurted out "I've always wanted to sky-diving too! Maybe we could go together!" I stared at him, blushing (Was he blushing as well?) until I was able to recover my voice and say, "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

I couldn't take this anymore! I had to tell Dan that I loved him, that it was me who sabotaged Ali's dress! I opened my mouth to speak but then Ali's butler appeared. (I recognized him from my visit.) He looked over at Dan and said, "Miss Drake sent me to find you. She wishes to talk to you." Those words put an ache in my heart. I couldn't tell Dan! He'd hate me! Besides, he's in love with _her_. I tried to hide my tears as I choked out, "Your fiancée's waiting; you'd better go see what she wants." Then I took off running down the path, Dan's bewildered face frozen in my mind.


	7. Drawing Conclusions

Sorry it's taken so long to update! I've been sick and busy. Thanks for waiting!  Natalie's pov

**(The next morning)**

"It was pure bliss," I said as I flung my self on Meg's bed, "until Ali's butler had to come and ruin it." Yesterday had been one of the best days of my life. "I talked with Dan, I mean really talked. We haven't done that in forever."

"I know you're on cloud nine and all, but we had better get brain storming if you want to become Mrs. Cahill." Meg chided. I sat up. "You're right."

Meg climbed up onto the bed with me and pulled out a notebook and a pen. "Okay, so I was thinking what does every wedding have to have?"

"A bride and groom?" I offered.

"No, a cake." I looked at Meg, comprehension dawning on my face.

"So, if there's no cake there's no wedding. And Ali would never have her wedding without a cake."

"Exactly." I knew what my friend had in mind, and it was going to be fun.

"And, so it has be all white, all white, except for the top which will have our figurines and two icing bluebirds on top. I want it to be cake that everyone will talk about months after the wedding." I grimaced as Ali walked past, chatting the ear off of the cake decorator. When both of the turned a corner, I glanced around to see if anyone was looking and then dashed toward the kitchen. Sneaking into Desmond's Cakes ("Find the Perfect Cake For You! Money Back Guaranteed if You Barf!") was easy, but now it was time for the tricky part.

If all went according to plan, I would be able to do my part and get out without being seen, and then Meg could complete hers. I pushed open the kitchen door with some trepidation, but there was no one in there.

Good, I thought as I dashed over to a slightly-bigger-than-normal stainless steel pot with a laminated sheet of paper stuck to it that said DRAKE/CAHILL in big, black letters on the top. That was followed by a drawing of what I'm sure was Dan and Ali's wedding cake, and how to make it. Obviously, I had found the right pot.

I was studying the list of ingredients when a sharp voice suddenly barked, "What are you standing around for? Get to work!" I jumped and turned around just in time to have a smelly, old workers jacket thrown in my face. I must have been standing there longer than I thought because the woman yelled again. "Didn't you hear me, Therese? GET MOVING!"

Oh. I suddenly got it. The crazy lady must've thought I'm one of the girls that worked here. Well, I wasn't wasting this golden opportunity. I hurriedly slipped on "my" jacket and set to work. I would need to do my stuff really quickly and get out before the _real_ Therese showed up, or her coworkers.

I started to make Dan and Ali's wedding cake. It was going to be huge so I had to put eight eggs in, ten cups of flour, twelve cups of sugar… you get the point. Well, anyway, when I finally finished, the pot was filled about one-and-a-half-inches from the brim. Enough room to add some unplanned ingredients.

I reached into a nearby cupboard and grabbed a can, garlic salt. I grinned an evil grin as I dumped some in the cake batter. I hummed the Wedding March as I stirred it in and added a whole saltshaker full of salt. I dropped in a few pinches of this and a couple of handfuls of that.

As I departed, I smiled broadly knowing that Ali was going to get her wish; everyone was going to be talking about her cake for a long, long time.

Meg's pov A few hors later

"You got all that?" I nodded yes to Ali's question "White icing embellished with white icing flowers, figurines of you and Dan, and blue icing bluebirds on top." I repeated. "Exactly, just give this paper to Desmond, the man decorating our cake, and make sure he reads it." Ali handed me a piece of paper with pictures and specific instructions on how to decorate the cake. I smiled a sly smile as I took it; this was going to be fun.

I had to be fast. I ran down the main walkway in Desmond's Cakes until I found what I was looking for: the security room. I pushed open the door when I was sure no one was looking. The room was empty, just as Natalie had predicted. The cake shop was supposed to be closed, but hey, when you're as rich as Ali nothing's closed to you.

I sat down at the only computer that wasn't hooked up to the security cameras. Luckily, it wasn't hard to get a hold Ali's wedding plans. I went on to Marian Dresden's website, signed in, and gained access to the very piece of paper I was holding in my hands, the one Ali had just given to me.

I made a few minor changes to it, saved it, and printed the cake plans out. When that was done, I tore up the one Ali gave me, turned off the computer, and exited the room. Within a few minutes, the new plans had been delivered to Desmond and I was on my way home.

Ali's pov A couple hours later

I couldn't believe it! First my dress and now my cake! I was seriously starting to think that maybe somebody didn't want this wedding to happen, didn't want me to marry Dan. But who would want that?

I wrote down a list of people. Certainly not Marion; she already had a husband. I knew it's wasn't Meg. The girl hadn't even met Dan! I crossed her off the list. I continued doing this until I was left with only a two: my maid and Natalie.

My maid had access to my rooms and therefore my dress, but how would she have sabotaged my cake? And, anyway, didn't she just leave for her vacation to Rome just this morning?

That left only Natalie. But it couldn't be her, it couldn't! She would never do something like that to me… would she? I started thinking. What _had_ Natalie been doing in my house the day my dress was ruined. Had she really come to show me her designs? Or was she just making that up because I'd run into her? And didn't the head cook at Desmond's Cakes (a horrible woman!) say something about some dark-haired girl pretending to be one of workers? Then there was the handkerchief. How had that _really_ gotten into my room. Had Natalie dropped as she destroyed my dress?

I wasn't sure if it even _was_ Natalie who had ruined my cake and my dress, but I knew a way to find out.


	8. Secrets Revealed

**Thank you for all the splendid reviews! They make me so happy! By the way, if any of you have seen the movie Psycho if you could please go to the Psycho forum, that'd be great! Hobbit4lyfe, the person who created the forum, and I are trying to have a discussion, but it's kind of hard with only two people. Thanks! **

**Third Person**

**Boston Police Department**

Dirk Daniels was sitting at his office desk filing a report on a theft when his phone rang. He picked it up. Dirk nearly dropped the phone in shock when he heard who was on the other end.

"Hello, Dirk. This is Ali, Ali Drake. Remember me?"

"How could I forget the girl who stood me up at Homecoming so she could go with Brett Hudson?"

"You're not still mad about that are you?" Ali simpered

"No, but…"

"Good, because I have something I need done and you're just the man for the job."

Dirk sighed before answering the woman's question. "What do you want?"

"It's nothing major. You see somebody broke into my house a couple of days ago and I wanted to know if you could find out who it was. You can do that right?" Dirk bristled with indignation. "Of course I can do it!"

"Perfect," he heard Ali purr. "Just perfect."

**Natalie's pov**

I was feeling great. Meg and I had accomplished our mission and I had just gotten an invitation to Dan and Ali's rehearsal dinner. It read:

Miss Natalie Kabra

_You have been invited to the rehearsal dinner of Miss Alissandra Marie Drake and Daniel Spencer Cahill. _**(A/N: Do the books ever mention his middle name?)**

_Where: The Garden Tavern on Forest Crescent_

_When: October 12, 2009. Eight pm to ten pm _**(tomorrow)**

_Dress: formal_

_RSVP: 828-909-5157_

_P.S. Would you mind coming a little early to help me set up? Thanks! _

_Ali_

I wasn't super excited about seeing Ali, but I would get another chance to talk with Dan. I picked up my hotel room's phone to rsvp.

**Dan's pov**

**Tomorrow **

I straightened my tie. It was almost time for the dinner and, to tell you the truth, I was a little nervous. I would be meeting most of Ali's relatives tonight. I hoped they liked me.

Finished with my tie, I left the bathroom and stepped out into the restaurant, The Spiced Apple, where the dinner would be taking place. It wasn't a very fancy place but it had charm. I'd had to fight with my fiancée to have this be where we had the dinner.

My eyes searched the room for her, but instead they found… "Natalie?" She turned around to see me standing there. "Oh, hi Dan." She replied nonchalantly. Then she went back to whatever she was doing.

"What are you doing here so early? Not that I'm not glad to see you," I added hastily. "I'm helping your fiancée make the seating chart." Natalie then made a mark on a sheet of paper she was holding. "We have a seating chart?"

"Yeah." Then she stepped closer to me and said: "See that table right there in the middle? That's where you, Ali, and Ali's parents will be eating…" "And if my parents were still alive that's where they would be sitting too?"

"Yup. You know, you can still have a couple of your family members sit with you. What about Amy?" "She's in Tokyo. She was Sydney to promote her newest book, The Omega Factor, and she got swarmed by fans and in an effort to get away, she boarded the wrong plane and ended up in Tokyo." I suddenly had a great idea. "Why don't _you_ sit up there with me?"

Natalie looked shocked. "I…uh… I don't want to impose." "Nonsense. Anyway you are family."

"Dan, a little help please!" We both turned around as Ali called my name. She was balancing precariously on a chair trying to hang a big, blown-up picture of us on the wall. "So, that's a yes right?" I said to Natalie. Then I ran off in the direction of my fiancée before she could answer my question.

**Natalie's pov **

**During the party**

I couldn't believe it! Dan had asked me to sit with him! I was so excited, but then he had go and ruin it with that "You are family" line. Did he only view me as a distant cousin? I certainly viewed him as something else entirely.

"So, how are you and Daniel related?" Mrs. Drake's voice broke into my thinking. "Uh…" I said with real intelligence. Luckily, I was saved by Dan. "Distant cousins." The conversation went on like this for about an hour. It was kind of boring; the real thrill was getting to sit next to Dan.

Then Ali stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you've heard about the fiascoes involving my wedding dressed and cake." She paused. "Those incidents puzzled me. I couldn't understand why somebody seemingly wanted to prevent my marriage to Dan. And then it hit me. What do girls fight over most? Boys. I realized it must have been a jealous girl." Ali glanced at me and I felt like I was going to throw up.

"By then, I had a pretty good idea of who it was. So, I called in an old friend of mine and had his specially trained police dog smell this," she waved one of the white, cotton hankies I always carry around, "handkerchief that they had left in my room. The dog found the same person's scent on my wedding dress and on the pot in which the cake was baked in.

I really have congratulate this person on her ingenuity." I needed to get out of here now. I jumped up tipping Dan's glass of sparkling cider over. Great. Now everyone was looking at me. "Natalie?" the love of my life inquired. "I…I've got to go." I was ready to run out of there like Cinderella ran out of the ball.

"Wait, before you go Natalie I want you to see the looks on everyone's faces when they find out that you were the one who ruined my dress and spoiled my cake!"

Silence. Complete and utter silence. Seeing Dan's stunned and hurt face was enough to break my heart. "Dan, I-"I couldn't take it. Couldn't take all those people staring so accusingly at me. Couldn't take Ali's smug and satisfied face. Couldn't take Dan staring at me like that. So, in a manner as ungraceful as you could get, I ran from The Spiced Apple, from all those people, from Ali, but most of all, from the one guy who understood me, the one person I loved above all others, from Daniel Cahill.

**Thanks for reading! **;-)


	9. Kisses and Fights

**Dan's pov**

The party was going great. Ali's parents seemed to really like me and the cooks at the Spiced Apple had really outdone themselves. Also, Natalie came. I wasn't expecting that, but it was fun to talk to her again.

About halfway through the party, Ali got up to do the toasts, but it seemed she had an unplanned announcement. "I'm sure you've heard about the fiascoes involving my wedding dress and cake. Those incidents puzzled me. I couldn't understand why someone would seemingly want to prevent my marriage to Dan. And then it hit me. What do girls fight over most? Boys. I realized it must have been a jealous girl." My fiancée paused and I saw her glance over at Natalie.

"By then I had a pretty good idea of who it was." She did? This was news to me. I realized I had missed a bit of what she was saying. Ali was waving a white hankie and saying how it belonged to the person who had sabotaged her dress and ruined our cake. As it flashed by me, I made out the initials NAK. Where had I seen those before?

Just then Natalie sprung out of her seat, spilling my drink. I looked at her, not understanding what she was doing. "Natalie?" She looked like she was going to puke. "I…I've got to go."

"Wait," now everyone was looking at my fiancée. "Before you go, Natalie I want you to see the looks on everyone's faces when they find out it was you who ruined my dress and spoiled my cake!"

O. That was my mind, O. I stared at my cousin with disbelief etched into my face and she looked back at me guiltily. Then Natalie took off into the night.

"I just don't see why had to announce it publicly like that! Why didn't you come to me first?" "Because she _deserved_ it!" Ali was really mad. "I don't care if she deserved it! What she did affected both of us! So why didn't you tell me?!" It's a good thing the party was over or else all the guests would have heard my fiancée and I screaming at one another. Our dinner had ended early. Nobody really knew what to do after what Ali had revealed. In the end, they just left, making some excuse or another. (One guy claimed his indoor pool caught on fire.)

I looked over at Ali to see that she had turned away from me and folded her arms in a resolute, defiant manner. I inwardly sighed, we were getting nowhere with this.

**Ali's pov**

Ugh! Wasn't that idiot Dan even the least bit grateful I had found out who the culprit was? No. All he cared about was that Little Miss Perfect Natalie Kabra had gotten hurt.

"I didn't know you were like this." I heard my fiancée say. "What do you mean?" I snarled. "He looked up at me sadly and said one word: "Cruel."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, cruel. What you did to my cousin was vicious."

"Like she didn't deserve it!"

"I'm not saying what she did was right, and I'm going to talk to her about it, but nobody, and I mean _nobody_, deserves what you did to Natalie. I had no idea you were capable of being so…so malicious."

"You could probably fill a book with things you don't know about me," I snorted.

"Well than maybe we shouldn't get married."

"WHAT!"

"Do I need to repeat myself? We've been dating for enough time that I _thought_ I knew you. It seems I was mistaken."

"Maybe you were," I retorted just as icily.

Dan sighed. "Let's…let's talk tomorrow." He got to leave, but before he made it out the door, I (How dare he have the last word!) replied, "Don't worry we will." Then, without an answer, I quit the room.

**Dan's pov**

I hate fights. I absolutely cannot stand them, which was why, even though I was really angry with her, I was relieved to see Natalie standing in the parking lot. I needed someone to talk to and that meant I didn't have to track her down to discuss tonight's events.

"Hey," I said as I ambled on over to her. "Hey," she replied. My cousin was a mess: her face was blotchy with tears and some of her hair had come out of its elaborate, twisty bun.

She sat down on the curb and I followed suit. "I heard you and Ali. I'm sorry, but thanks for defending me." Natalie mumbled, looked at the cracked pavement. "No biggie," I told her even though it was. Then I asked her the one question that deep down I knew I knew the answer to. "Did you really do it?"

My cousin looked ashamed and answered, "Yes." I sighed, as I watched the sun set. Then I ran my hand through my hair before answering. "Why?"

For the first time since she fled, Natalie looked at me. "Because I love you, Dan. I have for a long time and I probably always will. It was killing me watching you with _her_." She looked down again. "I… I'm so sorry. You probably never want to see me again." She finished miserably.

I turned my gaze over to her again to see that she was now staring at me obviously expecting an answer. "You…you love me?" I managed to croak out hoarsely.

"I'm so sorry," Natalie repeated. "Dan, I… I did because… because I love you. I wanted to be with you. I wanted you and Ali to break up." She looked down at the ground, tears welling in her eyes.

"And I can understand if you," she gulped, "if you don't love me. If you love Ali. I'm sorry for trying to sabotage your wedding; it was wrong and I know I shouldn't have done it. And, I promise to leave you alone." I was still trying to process what Natalie had just told me when she started to talk again.

"But I don't want you to remember me as the crazy love-sick girl who tried to crash your wedding. So, do me a favor and remember like this." Then she did something totally unexpected: she cupped my face in her hands, leaned in, and kissed me.

**Natalie's pov**

I don't know where the kiss came from, but it came. So, I put all my sorrow, tears, and dreams into it. The kiss only lasted a couple of seconds, but to me it lasted and represented the life I almost had. I was sorry to break away.

I looked into his shocked eyes and said, "That's how I want you to remember me." Then I turned around and walked out of his life forever.

**I hope you like it! **


	10. An End, A Beginning

**Dan's pov**

I just sat there on the curb in a sort of daze for about an hour. Natalie loved me? It was all too much to comprehend, so I headed to my favorite place in the world: The Science Corner.

It's this old, somewhat shabby looking store on Vine Path, hard to find but definitely worth it. The rusty, seasoned bell rang as I stepped into the shadowy shop. Even though it was late, I knew Tom would be here.

"Who is it?" a disembodied voice barked from the back room. "Tom, it's me."

" Dan? What are you doing here? I thought you had some party to be at."

"I did, but it didn't work out so well."

"What do you mean?" I told him everything. From seeing Natalie at the hotel to when I kissed her (Wait, back up, did I just say _I_ kissed _her_? _She_ kissed _me_, not the other way around.) in the parking lot of The Spiced Apple.

"Sounds to me like your having some girl trouble," my old friend said at last. "You could say that again."

"Well what you need to do is figure out who like best, Ali or Natalie, is that her name?" When I nodded he continued. "Okay, then you need to decide how your going to break it to the girl you don't want to be with. I would advise doing it in person, works better that way."

We sat in silence while I thought. After another hour, I got up (we'd taken a seat on the dusty floor) and said, "Thanks a bunch Tom. I'm not sure what'd I'd do without you." We exchanged good byes and I headed out the door.

Thirty minutes later found me knocking on the front door of Ali's mansion. I had thought about what Tom had said, and decided that, even after what she had done to Natalie, I still loved her. Soon I was admitted in and the butler, recognizing me immediately, said, "Miss Drake is in her room. You may go right up." Go up I did. Within a minute I was about to knock on her door when I heard Ali talking in there to someone else.

Being the curious person that I am, I cracked her door (Thank heavens she keeps them oiled!) open enough to see that her back was to me; she was facing the window. My fiancée was talking on her cell phone and I strained to hear what she was saying.

"…and then she had to come along and ruin everything!" Whoa, was she talking about Natalie? Ali had to be. "Everything was going so perfectly! Then Little Miss Perfect had run out crying and make that my fiancée all upset." The person on the other end said something and Ali laughed. "Yeah, you're right; in this context idiot_ is_ a much better word than fiancée."

What! Ali thought I was an idiot! I thought she loved me! Maybe she just thought I was _acting_ like an idiot. Yeah, that had to be it, I convinced myself.

Well, I found out I'd convinced myself the wrong thing when Ali said, "Yeah, the plan was to make that numskull fall in love with me, get married, and after a few months file for a divorce and get most of his fortune in the settlement."

Oh. My. Gosh.

Ali was only marrying me for my money, not for me. She didn't even like me! She thought I was a numskull and an idiot!

I quietly closed the door, but not before I heard that horrible girl I almost married tell her friend on the phone, "I know! I wish that good-for-nothing Natalie Kabra had never shown up and ruined our plans!"

As I walked out the front door of Ali's mansion, I had only one regret: that I'd even wasted my time on her. Before I was down even down the steps, I'd whipped out my cell phone. I smiled as I imagined Ali's face when her and her friend's plans came crashing to halt. I wouldn't miss her one bit.

"I thought I'd find you here," I said as I ambled along the path toward the park bench Natalie was sitting at. She was still in her party clothes, and now that I thought about it, so was I.

"Really?" It took me a moment to get that she was talking about what I'd just said.

"Nah, Meg told me you'd be here."

"Oh. Okay, um what _are_ you doing here?"

"I came to see you." Natalie looked surprised. "Is it about the kiss? If it is I'm sorry-" I cut her off and said, "No it's not. I came here because…because something happened and…"

"Oh no." My cousin put her face in her hands and moaned, "She dumped you, didn't she? All because I-"

"No, Natalie, you don't understand. _I_ dumped _her_.

"What?"

"I said, 'I dumped her'"

"But, Dan-"

"I went to her house after the party to talk to her, and I found out… I found out…" I gulped "that she didn't love me, that she was only marrying me for the money."

"Oh, Dan," She laid her hand on my arm. "I'm sure she didn't mean that! I bet you just misheard!"

"I didn't! I heard her say loud and clear on the phone 'The plan was to make the numskull fall in love with, get married, and after a few months file for a divorce and get most of his fortune in the settlement.'" My cousin covered her hands with her mouth in shock and said "Dan, I'm so, so sorry."

And then, looking at her, it hit me. Here was a girl who loved me, and who, I could see it in her face, was genuinely sorry that Ali only wanted to marry me for the money. I knew that she would rather it be her and not Ali I had intended to marry, but she was actually sorry that things hadn't worked out. How lucky was I? Now, I knew I had made the right decision.

I reached under the bench and pulled out two backpacks. Natalie stared at me quizzacely and asked, "What are those for?" I grinned and tossed her one as I replied, "Skydiving gear. I've got a plane waiting for us at the airport."

Her whole face lit up like a candle and I lit up too. Then she threw her arms around me and kissed me. It wasn't like last time, which was a sad kiss, this one was full of hope and happiness. And, you know what? I kissed her back.

**Wow. I feel really proud of myself. Thank you all so much fro reviewing! Your comments really kept me going! I would especially like to thank Rachael, you know who you are! So thanks! Thanks a ton! If you think I should do a sequel, vote on profile. Thanks! **


End file.
